5 Things You Need to Know Today: March 25

Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations.

1. A little more than three weeks remain before the Boston Marathon. Milford has 17 runners who are registered entrants this year, ages 18 to 72. Last year, brutally hot temperatures caused a general slowdown for most runners, and the marathon organizers allowed registrants to wait a year if they wished. Too soon to tell what the race day conditions will be this year.

2. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will meet at 1 p.m. Monday to discuss the evaluation criteria that will be used by the commission to evaluate proposals for resort casinos. The meeting is in Boston but will be live-streamed over the commission website at www.massgaming.com.

3. The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative Certification Program has awarded Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center at Milford Regional Medical Center a three-year certification for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet its highest standards for quality cancer care. To earn certification, a cancer care facility must undergo an evaluation of its entire practice and documentation standards. 

4. Looking to shake off the cobwebs of winter and get into shape? A Couch to 5K program will begin today, using virtual help, and in-person group runs once a week. See the announcement for more detail.

5. The Friends of the Milford Town Library will host poet Diana Der-Hovanessian at the annual celebration of National Poetry Month at 3 p.m. on April 13. Der-Hovanessian, a New England born poet, was twice a Fulbright professor of American Poetry and is the author of more than 25 books of poetry and translations. The event is free.